The following background discussion includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
To Applicant's knowledge, there currently does not exist a portable, multipurpose workstation for manually controlled arc, and/or flame based metal cutting processes, such as for use in a small garage, school workshop, onsite repair facility, marine or shipboard workshop, etc. . . . or other structure. Although large, industrial computer numerically controlled (CNC) cutting centers exist, usually these cutting centers are massive and immobile structures designed for a specific purpose, namely they are automated CNC, and as such, are not portable or configured for manually-operated use. This lack of a portable, consumer workstations for non-automated “small scale” manually-operated arc and/or flame-based metal cutting processes, typically would require a user to clamp the material to be cut off the edge of a common welding table or work bench. Subsequently during the arc cutting process, the sparks and hazardous molten slag produced by the cut sprays downwardly upon the user's feet and legs, while also endangering any hoses or cords laying on the ground below from being cut or punctured by the molten falling material.
All extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Thus there remains a considerable need for apparatuses that can conveniently provide the user with a multipurpose workstation configured to allow for the multipurpose use of welding equipment, general workshop tasks, and non-automated manual metal cutting processes including manually-operated metal cutting processes using the same workstation, with provisions for the safe capture and containment of resulting molten metal spray and sparks produced during the cutting process.